Thoughts on The Knowledge Economy

by Scott

Two things that I love are learning and businesses that create surplus from uncaptured value. A space that particularly intrigues me is the Knowledge Economy.

So much of the incredible knowledge that people have gained through experience lies dormant. People always want to improve, gather more data points, and find things faster so there is a continuous demand for this knowledge. The supply is equally abundant: Odds are someone else has done what you’re trying to do or found what you’re trying to find. Yet despite someone really smart inventing the internet, there is still a disconnect between knowledge supply and demand. I attribute this to the fact that the channels through which knowledge is exchanged are still not fully matured …
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Be Authentic When Someone Asks How Your Startup is Going

by Scott

So how is (enter startup name) going?
 

 
Many people answer this question with some iteration of “good” regardless of where things stand. I’ve talked with founders who I know are flailing, yet they still come up with some anecdote that things are “going well”. I’m not surprised at this behavior; we live in a world that says show your best and hide the rest. I just think it’s an ineffective, unsustainable paradigm. So save the dog and pony show.

When people ask “how things are going,” it’s far more productive to be honest and authentic. I have far greater respect for and more meaningful interactions with people that are. 

Why You Should Always Be Authentic:
 
Intimacy:

No one is perfect. Everyone just pretends to …
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Subscription Commerce is Not Plug and Play

by Scott

Just because you can put cool items people want inside of a box does not mean a viable subscription commerce business exists. After the success of Birchbox, so many people are trying to find ways to emulate the coveted subscription commerce model. Why? My guess is because it’s an attractive, easy to understand model.

Over the past 8 months, I’ve heard the “Birchbox” for x countless times. The problem is that this model is not plug and play. I feel comfortable saying this because I tried to start a subscription commerce company not too long ago. 

Like many, I gravitated toward the idea of emulating Birchbox in another vertical. From the sidelines, the model just seemed so attractive. So …
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SMB Social Media: Many Are Catching On

by Scott

A trend I’ve been noticing amongst SMBs I interact with is that they’re increasingly using technology to capture value from one-off interactions where they previously failed. Larger brands have long recognized the power of an email address or social media relationship and have provided consumers with incentives to trade this information. This information is a gateway for maintaining relevancy and hopefully cultivating a relationship through the penetration of your inbox or social stream. The diligence of retail brands in this arena serves as a stark contrast from my experience with SMBs. However, a few of my most recent interactions indicate SMBs are now getting in the game:

After putting my name on the waiting list at a local restaurant, the …
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The Etiquette of “What are you working on?”

by Scott

So… what are you working on?

This question pervades the New York Tech scene like 6th grade girls at a Bieber concert. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I think there is a level of etiquette surrounding it which few employ. 

People ask this question for a variety of reasons: they’re naturally awkward and have no idea what to say, they can’t wait for you to ask back because they think their project is the next Facebook, or they’re generally interested and want to help. If you want to develop meaningful interactions aim to be in the final camp.

When I first meet someone I never like to ask this question off the bat. Why? Because you never know whether someone is …
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Product Design: The Inevitability of Noise

by Scott

My biggest problem with my Facebook newsfeed has always been that so much of the content is irrelevant. This is mainly due to the fact that many people I’m friends with I’ve only met once or haven’t seen in a long time. So I acknowledge that the noise is somewhat my own fault.
 
I made a friend request the other day on Facebook and was presented with an option I hadn’t seen before. I took a picture of it below:

 

If you haven’t noticed, Facebook implemented a smart lists feature. Now each time I make a friend request, it prompts me to assign new friends to one of these lists.
 
I started thinking about it and realized that the more engaged I …
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